Kukla's Korner Hockey

Entries with the tag: hockey business

GB has done one heck of a job. Costs, for the most part, are capped. Revenue is up. Attendance is stable though lower than annually reported since the NHL came off the second of Bettman’s forced lockouts. And—this is most important and dear to every owner’s heart—the value of franchises has risen dramatically on his watch

Example: the expected sale of the Edmonton Oilers. The struggling franchise in what is arguably the NHL’s smallest city is expected to change hands for upwards of $200 million. Compare that to the $50 million cost of an expansion franchise (Ottawa and Anaheim) the day before Bettman was anointed in Palm Beach, Fla. in February 1993. Even with inflation, the increase is staggering—not nearly the value of an NFL or Major League franchise or even one in the NBA (which is hard to gauge because there haven’t been nearly as many in bankruptcy or for sale), but in the NHL, it’s a noteworthy achievement.